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Greetings!

Deborah Wuehler and family

My first response is to have your child read through and study the entire Bible by the end of their high school years; this is where science begins. Then, there are four things that come to mind about leading our high school children today to help them tomorrow:

1. I would help them prepare in advance by looking at what each science position requires academically, and also interview scientists in these positions, to find out if this is what they really desire. I found a really great website that offers a lot of this information in one place.       
2. If college is involved, I would also have my high school child do their own research and check each college's science department website and try to discern their philosophies on creation, and then read through some of their science class descriptions to see if this is a good fit.      
3. Pray fervently during these teen years that God would open up doors for your high school child and that He would orchestrate the people and events in his life to bring him (or her) to what He has planned for them (I can attest to the fact that He has done and is doing that with my oldest children). Pray that whatever gifts, abilities, talents, jobs, or college searches your child has or desires, that God would be glorified in all those areas. Pray for their salvation and that they would make your faith their own. What good is it if he gains the whole science world, but loses his soul?      
4. Trust God. Trust that God will sovereignly lead you and your child through these high school years and into their future. He desires to do so. Throughout the Bible, you will see the principle that God rewards obedience. I know He will reward your obedience as you have set your children apart and separated them from the world and its teachers so that they would be raised in Godliness for His purposes. Trust Him that He will provide all that your child will need for life and Godliness through their knowledge of Him (2 Peter 1:3).

I have heard so many real examples of God's faithfulness in providing for the high school years. Just this weekend a mom shared that her son loved to be on the computer and taught himself a computer language as well as how to design websites, filmmaking, etc.  He is now studying computer science in college. He taught himself all about a company's computer products, enough so that he is being interviewed for an internship at that company. Although this mom was told in seminars to get her son off of the computer, she allowed God to lead her son and guide them to what was best for him. Her advice for all of us:

"Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths." Proverbs 3:5, 6.

Prepare, Research, Pray, and Trust God. 

Trusting with you, 

~Deborah

TOS Senior Editor

SeniorEditor@TheHomeschoolMagazine.com  

Diana Waring

Dear Friends,

Well, I told you last week I was out of my league when it came to science. So, with this week's topic in mind, I took advantage of a recent lunch with Dr. Jay and Kathleen Wile, both professional scientists, to ask them for their advice.

In case you don't recognize those names, Dr. Jay L. Wile is the author of the Apologia science curriculum. And he has said many times that his wife is a better research scientist than he will ever be! So, with that as an introduction, here's their insightful wisdom.

When I told them this week's topic, without a moment's hesitation they both said that the best preparation for a science career was math! The more, the better--four years of math in high school, with courses that will challenge the student. Dr. Wile said that it was more important that the student be challenged in math studies than that particular math courses be taken. The reason for this is that even if students are contemplating a career in the life sciences (which do not use as much math as the physical sciences), it is still very helpful to immerse oneself in math courses because it helps train the brain to think in a particular way. And a mathematically-trained brain is valuable to every scientist.

From their comments, it seemed clear that math is the "open sesame" to a treasure trove of widely divergent science careers. They even mentioned that though medical doctors don't use calculus, pre-med students are required to take it.  If you pass, you continue. If you fail, it's over. I guess it's a way of separating the sheep from the goats, scientifically speaking.

Next in importance was the simple step of subscribing to a science magazine that students could understand and enjoy, such as Answers magazine (from Answers in Genesis) or Nature Friend. The reason for this is that, unlike textbooks, magazines tend to publish what's new in science, allowing students to stay in touch with some of science's current topics.

Finally, encourage your students to begin looking into the possibilities of what they might find interesting as a science career. Explore all the avenues of science--it's an incredibly broad field with many different types of occupations.

So, I hope you find this as helpful as I did. Many thanks to Jay and Kathleen Wile for generously sharing their experience and insight into science careers. It made for a fun lunch discussion . . .

Remember, stay relational!

Diana

Raising Real Men

www.RaisingRealMen.com  

Hal & Melanie Young

Most boys at some time or another think they want a career in science or technology. Sometimes that's what God's calling them to, but other times, it's what they think that kind of career would bring. That's the way we were. Hal majored in engineering and Melanie in the hard sciences, though it's become clear over the years that our real gifts and calling are in writing and speaking. So, the first thing you need to figure out is why your student is being drawn into the sciences.

Ask a lot of good questions. Why does he want to be a scientist? What does he think a scientist does on a typical day? Often, our students are imagining the adventurous life shown in the movies rather than a professor's quiet lab work and research. Melanie imagined that studying robotics would lead to the exciting kind of life portrayed in science fiction; instead, she's found great adventure being engaged in the war for souls in our family life and ministry. Help your child find their real gifts, science or otherwise.

Create real world exposure. Find someone employed in the sciences, a professor or research chemist perhaps, and suggest your child ask if they can shadow them for a few days. If he's still interested after that, see if you can arrange for a longer term internship.

And, if he's still thinking science, what then?

Math. One of the things that derails a lot of science and engineering aspirations is math--namely, calculus. You don't necessarily have to do calculus in high school, but they need a solid foundation in math, extending at least to precalculus, so that they can move into calculus confidently.

Science. Taking an Advanced Placement (AP) course or dual enrollment course or two in the sciences can help prepare them to jump ahead at the college level--or even just be better prepared. Be aware, though: AP classes, as well as college classes, assume a student has already had a year of the high school level of that science before they start the advanced course. That means that it's helpful to start high school science a year early if you have a science-oriented student, so that they have time to complete advanced courses without doubling up.

We're hopeful that the next generation of scientists will have a lot of homeschool graduates. The things we are so good at teaching as homeschoolers--Biblical worldview, diligence, critical thinking, integrity--will be real assets in the scientific community.

Hal & Melanie Young

PS.For more information, see our workshops, "Homeschooling High School & Transcripts" and "Aiming For College."

Unit study vs. project method:  Discover the difference!

Read Mary Hood's article . . .

The Unit Study Homeschooler: 

The Project Method 

 in the latest issue of